Wood pergolas wherein the horizontal pergola beams have scalloped or sculpted ends are well known. However, wood pergolas can be expensive to install and, additionally, require continuing maintenance such as painting. Further, such wood pergolas are susceptible to warping, splitting, insect damage (e.g., termites), etc. Accordingly, alternative materials such as plastics and composites are increasingly being used as a replacement for their wood counterparts in structures such as pergolas. Such plastic and/or composite counterparts can be both more cost effective to install and substantially maintenance free. However, it is generally recognized that purchasers of such alternatives to wood structures desire that the appearance of the alternatives to have an appearance that closely resembles the corresponding wood structure. In particular, purchasers or customers for such alternative structures desire the visual characteristics of beams of wood rather than unsightly plastic and/or composite seams where individual components are fitted together to simulate, e.g., wood pergola beams. Additionally, such plastic components may not fit together precisely enough to provide an ecstatically pleasing appearance of, e.g., a simulation of a solid beam having scalloped end portions. Thus, there is a need for advancements in plastic structural components and their manufacture to accommodate customers' preferences.
Regarding pergolas, the above analysis is particularly true of the plastic components that are the scalloped end caps for pergola horizontal beams. For example, the prior art pergola end cap of FIG. 1 is typical of at least some known pergola end caps. The pergola end cap 10 in FIG. 1 is substantially hollow with an interior 14 having dimensions adequate to accommodate the pergola beam end 18 within the opening 14. However, as mentioned above, when the end cap 10 is positioned on the pergola beam end 18 (as shown in FIG. 2), the esthetics of the resulting combination is less than desired due to the seam 22, the extended thickness 24 of the pergola end cap that protrudes outwardly from the line of the beam 18, and the likely visually detectible change in angle wherein the pergola end cap is tilted relative to the horizontal line of the beam 18, thus providing a visually displeasing angle 28 there between.
FIG. 3 shows another prior art pergola end cap 32 that provides a more pronounced scalloped effect but which also requires the end of the pergola beam 18 to be cut along a path 36 having a curve identical to the scalloping of the pergola end cap 32. Thus, in this prior art embodiment, the pergola end cap 32 has fins 40 that slidably contact the interior surfaces of the hollow pergola beam along the path 36. The attachment of the pergola end cap 32 is labor intensive due to the exactness by which the path 36 must be followed in cutting the pergola beam 18. Further, even if the cut corresponding to the path 36 is exact, an unsightly seam remains along the cut clearly indicating that the resulting combination of the pergola beam 18 and the end cap 32 is not a single unitary structure.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have plastic and/or composite pergola end caps that alleviate the undesirable effects of prior art pergola end caps such as those discussed hereinabove. In particular, it is desirable to have pergola end caps that: (a) substantially follow, in an esthetics manner, the horizontal beam line of the pergola beams to which they are attached, (b) are of an extended length to thereby accommodate more extensive or intricate scalloping, (c) are sufficiently durable where the end cap joins to the pergola beam so that, e.g., a torque applied to the junction between the pergola beam and the end cap by, e.g., a relatively heavy vine does not break, misalign, or disconnect the pergola end cap from its beam.